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SPECIAL

Ford Territory

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

Ingall Fights Back to Take Podium in Darwin V8s

Staff, Monday May 24, 2004.

Page 1 of 1

For the fourth straight event it was a different winner, with Todd Kelly finishing ahead of Steven Richards. In the process Richards regained the lead in the championship chase.

The winner of yesterday?s opening race, Ingall was set to take full advantage of his pole position for the first of today?s two races.

However, on the run down to the first bend he was tapped from behind by defending champion and Stone Brothers Racing teammate Marcos Ambrose (Pirtek Racing). Ingall spun and dropped to the back of the pack.

From that point he began a charge back up through the order to claim 11th place.

Ambrose assumed the lead, but during his compulsory tyre stop, one of the wheels rolled out into pitlane and he was handed a drive-tough penalty. The Tasmanian battled his way back to 13th.

The final race of the weekend saw both Stone Brothers Falcons continue to charge. Ingall taking fifth, while Ambrose beat Richards across the line by half a car length to score second and salvage fourth overall.

?To get a podium is pleasing, but we know that it should have been a whole lot more,? said Ingall.

?It?s been a good points haul for the championship and importantly our cars are very fast.

?The team did a great job in the pits and gave me every opportunity to fight back. The car was especially good in the final race.

?I know that we have a strong package right now and I?m pretty determined to show just how good it is Perth.

?The incident with Marcos was unfortunate. It all got pretty tight going into the first turn and things like that can happen. It?s all behind us now, there?s no point getting upset. He did apologise and I know that he feels pretty bad about the whole thing?.

Despite recovering to take fourth, Ambrose was disappointed with how the weekend turned out.

?I stuffed up the second race, so I?m glad Russell was able to get onto the podium,? said Ambrose.

?It was pleasing to bag as many points as we did, considering how the weekend unfolded. I did loose the championship lead to Steven Richards, but it?s still very close.

?I was happy with the recovery, but we will not win championships doing what I did in the first couple of races this weekend.

?It?s now behind us and I?m looking ahead to Perth. We won there last year and I?m keen to do that again for the team and the Ford fans.?

OzEmail Racing?s John Bowe enjoyed his best run in recent times with fifth place overall. Unlike his fellow Ford runners, it was a weekend where good car speed and staying out of any dramas paid off.

?There was a number of times that I could have pushed a little bit harder,? said Bowe.

?In fact, I could have stuck the nose of my OzEmail Falcon into a few more places and gained some positions, particularly in the last race.

?However, I went into the weekend with the goal of keeping the panels straight and that was what I did.

?The result has been a bag of points and a true reward for the team.?

CAT Ford Performance Racing?s Craig Lowndes claimed seventh overall, but he endured a scary moment at the start of the final race when he stalled on the line.

Even in the short period of time it took for Lowndes to fire-up the Falcon, he dropped from fifth to 26th as cars thundered past at up to 160km/h. He then drove through the field to finish ninth in the final race.

?What an unbelievable mistake!,? said Lowndes.

?I released the clutch a bit quicker than I normally do and that was that. It was a shame as the car was unbelievable, just sensational and particularly quick.

?I am very happy for the crew and the great job they have done this weekend, it?s just a pity that I messed up the third race start.?

Jason Bargwanna (Orrcon Steel Racing) finished 11th overall after a crossed thread on a wheel nut in the final race saw him finish 19th. Even worse for teammate Mark Winterbottom who had an electrical problem just two laps from home. He would have finished inside the top-10, but his car coasted to the chequered flag to be 14th overall.

Teams now have a long haul back to their bases on the east coast of Australia, before making another long journey across the country to Barbagallo Raceway outside Perth between June 11-13.

Top-10 ? overall Hidden Valley
1. Todd Kelly ? Holden Race Team ? Holden Commodore
2. Steven Richards - Castrol Perkins Motorsport - Holden Commodore
3. Russell Ingall ? Caltex Havoline Racing ? Ford Falcon BA
4. Marcos Ambrose ? Pirtek Racing ? Ford Falcon BA
5. John Bowe ? OzEmail Racing ? Ford Falcon BA
6. Greg Murphy ? KMart Racing ? Holden Commodore
7. Craig Lowndes ? CAT Ford Performance Racing ? Ford Falcon
8. Rick Kelly ? KMart Racing ? Holden Commodore
9. Mark Skaife ? Holden Race Team ? Holden Commodore
10. Jason Bright ? PWR Racing ? Holden Commodore

Top-10 ? Championship after 4 of 13 rounds
1. Steven Richards - Castrol Perkins Motorsport - Holden Commodore 704 pts
2. Marcos Ambrose ? Pirtek Racing ? Ford Falcon BA 694 pts
3. Greg Murphy ? KMart Racing ? Holden Commodore 665 pts
4. Rick Kelly ? KMart Racing ? Holden Commodore 644 pts
5. Jason Bright ? PWR Racing ? Holden Commodore 593 pts
6. Russell Ingall ? Caltex Havoline Racing ? Ford Falcon BA 514 pts
7. John Bowe ? OzEmail Racing ? Ford Falcon BA 484 pts
8. Todd Kelly ? Holden Race Team ? Holden Commodore 457 pts
9. Jason Bargwanna ? Orrcon Steel Racing ? Ford Falcon 438 pts
10. Garth Tander ? Valvoline Racing ? Holden Commodore 434 pts

Further information and high-resolution images relating to Ford Racing Australia can also be found at : media.ford.com

For further information contact:
Ben Beazley
Media Coordinator
Ford Racing Australia
Phone: 03 9359 8190
Mobile: 0417 262 753
Email: benb@global-marketing.com

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